wow its been a while since ive posted anything on here but here we go…
i wanted to make an insulation foam board and have searched the archives to see other people and what they did…i noticed everyone was using the same basic method for constructing their blanks…the “lay thin wide pieces on top of each other” method…heres my question…has anyone ever tried cutting their rocker template into the sheet 20 or so times and glueing them side by side?..maybe even with wooden stringers in there somewhere? i am interested in trying this technique but dont know if someone else has tried it with catastrophic results…if so ill just go a proven route…thanks
oh and check out my b.y.o.b. on foamez.com…its neils single fin eggy…i gave swaylocks a shoutout
That’s exactly how I made my last Lowes blank. You end up wasting less foam that way.
I used Titebond III to glue up. The issues I had were near the nose and tail where your shaping through a bunch of glue lines it’s difficult to get everything even. The glued foam ends up being harder than the surrounding foam.
Remember EPS has no orientation or density differences so it doesn’t matter which way you orient the foam. The wood glue joint is way stronger than the surrounding foam too. (I tested it)
That was my first experiment. I’m going to use this method from now on, but the thing to do is cut your planks out then tape them together and outline your template. Then when your gluing only put the glue where the joint will be inside the template shape. That way you don’t have to shape through glue lines.
I was thinking of using veneer as stringers to allow a little bit of chambering of the actual foam. I may try that on my next one.
go do some research on Gary Linden’s 1990’s “Recycler” initiative. I had a little 6’8" xps shortboard with glassed on wood fins back in the early 90’s that was my all time fave until I left it in my car and it delammed on me.
Brilliant idea of running around scooping up everyone’s scraps then gluing them up with colored resin to make free blanks to shape his boards from. He came across as a being green when infact he was just saving green until the other shapers wised up. He kind of does the same glue up thing with his agave boards.
The archives should have a blue dow XPS nugget that Rohan made many years back using the same technque. Dick Brewer sold one of his guns at Randy Rarick’s surf memoralbilia auction several years back for a good chunk of change made from hundreds of thin pieces of wood cut un the rocker shape, chamber ed and glued up into blank.
Shark Country made a 4 man EPS canoe using the same technique but cutting his profiles across ways versus longways Unfortunately he never finished shaping and glassing it before the bumblebees got to it…
I am in the middle of a project like this. Pink Home Depot 2# eps. Started with (2) 2’x8’x2" pieces. I then used my preshaped stringer as a template and cut out 6 pieces out of each blank. Next, I glued them up 2 pieces at a time and I am using 3 pvc stringers-12 pieces stacked one on top of the other. After 20 hours of work, I now have a blank to shape! The big negative, in addition to the time spent, was that when I glued them up, they really slip. If you dont do your glue clamps EXACTLY IN THE MIDDLE ( I used 6 glue clamps), the pieces slip all over the place - maybe too much glue? Generally, I get 4 blanks out of a 2’x2’x8’ block of eps 2#; $20 per blank. This process cost me $13 per piece of foam plus $12 for the gorilla glue plus the 20 hours effort. I am sticking to the hot wiring of bill blocks from now on.
Yeah that's a nice one RDM. Did you use The foam specific contact adhesive? Do you think 3M 77 or 90 would work about the same? They also have one that is blue.
That board really looks nice, RDM. Is the board still holding up? What kind of temps has it endured without delam?
That glue mentioned by oneula looks like the ticket.
I always have difficulty sourcing nice foam blocks, so this might be an interesting alternative that would make using "Big Box" foam more appealing. Use EPS as the center and higher density XPS for the rails, add some veneers, a la T-Flex, and you're rolling. It seems like this would produce a durable board with very little waste. Nice.
The board is still holding up well jeffleppard - no delamination problems yet.
Summer temperatures here go up over 38 degrees celcius (100 degrees farenheit) fairly regularly. I never leave the board in the car, although it is stored in the roof of the garage without a cover, even in summer. I think a "roughly" sanded blank and lots of resin used in the lamination have probably helped.
i was thinking about using the pink foam for a blank...it would be interesting to see your blank or if youve finished a board id like to see that too if want to post pics
Just started making a board out of the blue insulation at Lowe's. Here are a few pix of the project so far... Planning on the dimensions coming out to be around 6'x22"x3" with a 14" tail, so it will be a mini simmons type board. Check out my blog for more details and my other projects...
Made a little progress. Got it all glued and started shaping... Glue lines seem to help the shaping process by giving me a reference point. Can't wait to glass it!!
I use that method sometimes with eps…it’s usually at least 2" wide…I always put a perimeter piece so theres no gluelines in the rail…yeah , it’s a more economical way…the vertical glue lines add some rigidity depending on the type of glue you use…
